


Metanoia

by LihuenStars



Category: South Park
Genre: Action/Adventure, Assassins & Hitmen, Bunny is cute af, Craig is a badass, Crenny but as friends Sorry, Cult, Grungy, Journalist Tweek, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Romance, Tricia is precious, probably gonna be long
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-05
Updated: 2018-01-09
Packaged: 2019-02-28 15:04:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13273977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LihuenStars/pseuds/LihuenStars
Summary: After Craig's parents mysteriously disappeared, he became a merciless criminal to pay back their debt and support his sister Tricia. For $50000, Craig is hired to kill the uprising journalist Tweek Tweak for his recent article which unleashes the truth about a cult in South Park, and it's ghastly uses of human testing.





	1. The target.

**Author's Note:**

> After the first chapter, I will probably change to first person POV for Craig.

Craig fumbled with his jacket’s pocket and took out a fresh pair of latex gloves and his black doctor’s mask; he knew how to protect his identity from experience. His casual navy bomber and black jeans were equipped with two handguns, three compact throwing knives, and a white lighter. Solemnly, he stares at the moon's reflection on his watch before approaching the house; tonight he would be making $50000 if he was successful.

____________________________________________________________________________

“Craig, can you sign my field trip form? I need it for tomorrow” Tricia nudged her older brother with anticipation in her eyes.

He took the crumpled piece of paper and read it over, scribbling his signature in the bottom-right line of the page. “The Planetarium hey? Have fun.”

Times have been tough in the Tucker household, and Craig struggled to raise his younger sister alone after their parents mysteriously left five years ago. He had to give up his dreams of studying Astronomy in university to take over the household, but without even knowing on how to properly cook rice, his job as a father, mother, and brother to Tricia felt impossible at times. With that being said, he has no regret over abandoning his dreams. He adored his sister; she made him feel human. There was no way he could support her on only a crappy part-time job as a mechanic, and desperate times call for desperate measures.

He reconnected with Kenny McCormick three years ago after he found out that he was going through a similar thing. He saw that Kenny was able to put Karen in a private school, dress her well and provide her with an occasional after-school tutor. Craig’s heart ached for that life for his Tricia and knew he was willing to do anything. The two boys were close friends growing up, and Kenny was honest about his dark profession and open to helping Craig.

Kenny and Craig became partners in crime, always knowing where the other was and ready if one needed backup. It was dangerous to work alone, and Kenny was fortunate to have Craig on speed dial. They worked for Token, who was also the principal of South Park Elementary. The three got along well and knew to never get their work involved with their personal lives.

  
After three years, Craig feels confident enough to call himself a decent assassin. He has had a few close calls, but those rookie mistakes were quickly corrected after his first few months. He has mastered the art of hiding and destroying evidence and knows the quickest ways to end a life. He has an oxygen-boosting cleanser ready in his bathroom and disinfectant for his shoes, and always had his phone ready to call Kenny in his left pocket.

Although he was confident in his abilities, Craig was nervous for tonight. With so much cash on the line, he felt tense and his chest was squeezing his lungs. He knew nothing about his target except for a general appearance, and that he was a rapidly growing journalist. His targets were always gang members or dealers and never made him much money, and to have someone unassociated with the crime world was a first. This job will definitely get media attention, which meant the police will spend an excess amount of recourses on it, and he would not be allowed to do a single mistake.

_Fuck, already 11 pm_. Craig thought to himself, running up the old stairs to Karen’s bedroom. He peered into her room, to see her under the covers, with the light glow of her phone screen.

 

“Trish, go to sleep, you gotta get up early for your trip tomorrow” he grunted at her.

“five more minutes- I’m reading something cool” She spat, wiggling on to her side to avoid the dingy, yellow lights from the hallway.

“What is it? I could use a good read.” Craig hasn’t read in months, nor did he have any plans to end this streak. Really, he just wanted an opportunity to connect with his younger sister and maybe find something in common. _It better not be a shitty fan-fic…_

“Just something about a cult, I can send you a link to it tomorrow. It talks about the disappearances…” she turned off her phone and placed it upside-down on her nightstand. “I’ll go to sleep now, night” she smiled at her brother, there were tears in her eyes.

“Alright, ‘night Trish” he sighed, turning around to close her door.

“-Craig?” he looked back into the room to see her slightly sat up, “thank you for dinner, and for signing my form. I’ll take photos of anything that looks cool tomorrow… I know you still like space and stuff.”

“Yeah, no problem. Thanks- sleep well” he hummed, closing the door and making his way to his room. He didn’t know how to respond, but smiled to himself and slightly blushed.

_________________________________________________________________________

Once he entered his room, he began his long ritual for work. He yanked on the hot water in the shower and felt the steam fill the bathroom, tilting his head up to the ceiling and inhaling the thick air. He scrubbed at his skin hard, and shaved off any facial hair to avoid leaving a strand at the scene. Quickly, he changed the temperature to what felt like freezing, sending a jolt of energy up his spine. He slipped out of the shower and dried off his body, trying his best to avoid his reflection.

Craig hated to look at himself in the mirror. He felt a deep sense of dissociation when he saw himself. Although all he has ever killed were criminals, he was paralyzed of the thought of their families. He couldn’t bear the thought of knowing if one of his tasks had a child or an elderly parent to care for. Craig threw away his pride a long time ago, and felt that his purpose in life was to help Tricia be successful.

He inserted a pair of hazel contacts to mask his vivid, blue eyes and gelled back his hair. He covered up a scar on his right temple from a past altercation, and exited his now cold bathroom into his dark bedroom, making sure to close the blinds. In the back of the bottom drawer in his desk were his black jeans, a long-sleeved black shirt, his navy bomber and a deep-blue hat with a yellow pom-pom attached to the top of it. Dark to blend in with the night, yet casual enough to look like any other citizen in the town of South Park. He wore a pair of black combat shoes, double-tying them to avoid them becoming undone at an unfortunate time.

He lifted up his mattress and took out his two handguns, stuffing them into the inner pockets of his bomber jacket. He then went to his underwear drawer and took out his throwing knives, a muffler, and his white lighter and hid them throughout his outfit. He traveled lightly and took note of everything he had on him, misplacing something could always create a path back to him. Satisfied, he headed down to the front door, making sure Tricia’s door was closed on the way down. Stuffing his phone into the left pocket of his pants and locking the door behind him, he began to walk towards his assignment’s house.

____________________________________________________________________________

“Are you sure you want to do this Craig? This is a high-risk assignment, and even Kenny denied it once he assessed the probabilities of being caught” questioned Token, as he leaned forward on his expensive, leather seat.

“I’m sure. I need this money.” Token nodded with sorrow in his eyes and gave him a file on the target.

The file contained three photos of the suspect, a contract, and any additional information. Craig had memorized it all that evening and began to craft his plan right away. Even now that the day has came, he couldn’t help but feel reluctant, and a dire sense to turn away and call it off. He had a bad feeling about what was about to go down, but couldn’t bring himself to stop.

The house was in a quiet part of town, it was small yet cozy, and all the lights were off. Parked outside in the driveway was the car, which is where Craig would start. In case the target managed to get away, there had to be no way for them to leave the immediate scene, hence why Craig had to disable the car. Being a mechanic had its perks, and one of those was knowing which parts to unplug under the hood to totally render the vehicle useless. With no quick way to escape the premise, Craig was ready to move into the house.

He entered through a back window which leads into the dining room, and was instantly greeted with the smell of coffee and lavender. With caution, he slowly lurked around the house, observing each room and creating a mental blueprint of the layout. When he entered the living room, he saw a small photo of a small, blonde boy with his parents on top of the fireplace; he instantly turned the other way and tried to forget about their smiles. There was a small pet-bed against a sofa and a little treat next to it. _He has a pet, gotta make sure I don’t run into it._

Craig began his ever slow ascent up the stairs, being careful to not make the wooden planks creak beneath him. His palms felt sweaty and the air felt cold, and Craig could feel his shoulders cave in with fear. He took a right and noticed the bathroom door was left slightly open, which left the assumption that the other door was the bedroom. Craig had no idea what to expect on the opposite side and began to feel a deep level of anxiety. He dug his hand into his left pocket but began to think about Tricia. He needed this money. He was close to paying off the debt his parents left him with and would be able to finally move his little sister to a better school. _Just one shot, just one bullet. Just like anyone else. It will be ok._

He opened the door and saw the blonde, green-eyed boy awake in his bed holding his guinea pig, staring right at Craig. He flinched but didn’t leave his spot, and snuggled his pet closer to his chest.

“I knew you were c-coming and I know there is no way to stop what you are about to do but I just wanted someone to hear my final - _nggh_ - words” The twitchy boy whimpered out, as he tried to maintain eye contact with Craig and his raised gun.

“How did you know I would come tonight” Craig replied in a stern yet expressionless voice. He inched closer to the bed, with the gun still raised at the blonde’s head.

“My article- it blew up! It was controversial and I knew that the cult would want my head- it was only a matter of time before some- _nggh_ -one came to blow out my brains! But I couldn’t leave- my guinea pig hates to travel. She shouldn’t s-suffer because of me! And what if they couldn’t find my body because I left? _Aggh_!” He blurted and began to hyperventilate frantically. “Please- I’m no criminal- people need to know the truth!”

“What do you want them to know? I can pass the message.”

“The cult of Agir is the reason the people have gone missing in the past ten years! They lure them in and do human testing! The old facility was n-never taken down, it just merged with the cult. People abandoned everything they had with the false promises of the cult- even parents!”

 

It struck him like that. This must have been the guy who wrote the article Tricia was reading. Craig couldn’t pull the trigger. The way he held his pet so lovingly, the anxiety he displayed, and things he knew. Craig didn’t care if he was bullshitting or not, he saw this as a possible way to find his parents again. Although he would always hate them for leaving, it will give him and Tricia the closure they so desperately needed. He knew he was breaking the most important rule of bringing his personal life to work, but he knew that this man wasn’t a criminal. _I should have stuck to my gut feeling and not do this shit. Now what the fuck am I supposed to do?_

“I’m not gonna kill you, but you’re gonna have to tell me everything you know and stay hidden. No one is allowed to know if you’re dead or alive.” Craig lowered the gun and cursed himself. Not only did he just blow his biggest job yet, he couldn’t even convince himself that what he did was wrong. He knew what he did was right, but it was gonna bite him in the ass.

A car parked in front of the house and a man came running out of it. It was Kenny. _Why the fuck is he here? This can’t be good._

Craig took out his phone and saw a text message from seven minutes ago:

[ **Kenny** ]: Don’t kill him. Be ready to go ASAP.


	2. The Snow-Capped Mountains

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So i decided not to change the POV! Thank you all for the positive feedback, and I hope you all enjoy the chapter! It is incredibly short, but I will make up for it in the next one.

The car skidded off down the road, ignoring every stop sign in its path. To say the vehicle was in a hurry would be a dramatic understatement.

“What the fuck do you mean by _don’t_ kill him?” Craig was in a daze. Not only did he break the boundary between his personal life and work, he felt no regret towards it. Craig has never spoken a word to any of his targets, he didn’t even know most of their names- and he was too afraid to ever learn them. For a bit, he honestly thought that he was doing the town some good; cleaning the streets of nasty gang members and crooks had to have been good for someone. But the fact that he consciously made the choice to take the life of a man who was living a life out of crime felt like a punch to the gut. Maybe he should have done more research, maybe he shouldn’t be killing people if he actually cared.

“I knew you wouldn’t do it, Craig. You’re too soft for it, I don’t know what Token was thinking…” and that’s the truth, Kenny was baffled when he heard the Token actually gave the job to Craig. Kenny has been involved with crime since the ninth grade, starting off with petty theft and eventually a for-hire hitman. There was no glam in his life, and would avoid jobs whenever possible when he was comfortable with money. He was able to learn about carpentry from Stan, a longtime friend in South Park, and started doing freelance projects whenever possible. He was afraid of Karen finding the truth about him, and losing her would be the end of him.

“Too fucking soft? Screw you McCormick” Craig bit his lip and flipped the driver off, looking into the mirror at the terrified and confused journalist. Craig felt that no one really knew what was going on, yet his heart was still beating out of his chest. His adrenaline was running through his veins, yet he didn’t have the courage to pipe a word to the man behind his seat. What was he? A pussy or saviour? Craig’s mind swarmed with horrendous thoughts and was drained with confusion- how did the space loving, straight-A kid go from being accepted into his dream school with scholarships, to being in a car with a gun in his hand, riding shotgun next to a crook and in front of a deranged journalist?

The boy behind him was petrified, still with his small rodent in his arms. He was 21 at most, probably has yet to have his first sip of legal alcohol. He was skittish and jumpy, yet incredibly collected. He was probably on the verge of breaking down and crying mercy, but that would most likely wake up the resting creature he held so dearly. Did he know what he signed up for when he wrote that article? What would make anyone want to even write about such a topic?

They rode in silence for a few moments, the front two felt too awkward to speak up, whereas the blonde boy felt too afraid to even blink. The roses were deserted at this time, except the occasional drunk or kicked-out husbands, both a common occurrence in the mountain community. Although a town of nearly 100000, it had all the elements of any large city- all with a small town vibe. Some people lived for the close-knit connection within neighbourhoods, while others cursed the town for being a trap.

“We are heading to an old abandoned office in old-central South Park” Kenny announced, as Craig nodded slowly in agreement, and the anxious blonde nodded quickly and looked down- he was as a pale as a ghost. “You, you’re gonna tell us everything you know and what you were doing. I wanna know just how bad this shit was that someone fucking hired us to kill you.” The blonde again shook his head, his dancing with every movement.

They sat, gazing out on the snow-capped mountains as Kenny drove down the lonely roads. Old-central was the perfect place for their hideout as it was a pretty dead part of town, and Craig knew of the building as he would play in there as a faux-businessman while in elementary school. He chuckled at the memory, times were simpler back then.

______________________________________________________________________________

Kenny pulled the car up to the back entrance of the old building and jumped out, stopping for a moment to enjoy the sweet, mountain air. Craig slouched out and stretched his back, before opening up the door for the anxious backseat passenger.

“Stay by my side, don’t try anything smart” Craig said to him, trying to sound as intimidating as possible.

“Y-yes” the exhausted boy whispered. He was still trying to analyze the night before. He had a letter written out and everything, he was ready for what was supposed to come. Being rescued from the man who was supposed to kill him was not on the plan. This is one of the times were Twerk desperately wanted to speak to his mother.

The two men dragged in the complying boy to the building, and he carefully held his pet, before settling her down in a large, open box. The interior was spacious and well used; it has been one of their meeting places for a while, however it wasn’t frequently visited. There were two computers against opposite corners, a few sofas, a large table, and too many empty boxes- most being for pizza.

“Do you have a name we can call you by?” Craig said, trying to sound less like a bitch than before. He didn’t want to scare the guy off, but he didn’t want to give in too quickly.

“Yeah um- just call me Tweek” He said sheepishly. He sat down on a chair while the two others sat on a sofa across from him.

“Alright, Tweek. So you wanna get telling us why you wanted to write about the cult?” Craig responded to him, with a strong yet casual tone, trying to sound confident in his words. He saw the blonde gulp, and he felt fear radiate off of him.

“Everyone in town knows about it, p-people from out of town even come for a chance to see it in person. It could give the people _ngh_ -hope! For those still trying to find their loved ones. Over 300 people went missing in the span of 10 years and not one media outlet wanted to cover it! I got my a- _agh_ -article published, I know what I was getting myself into. ” He quickly rambled out, doing his best to avoid eye contact.

“And why the hell would you make the assumption that the cult is associated with human testing? That shit storm ended a long time ago.” Kenny jabbed at the blonde. He must have read the article sometime the previous day, it seems that everyone has except for Craig.  
“The timelines added up! There is no way one of the most controversial laboratories could just close so suddenly, and then some sciencey-ocean loving cult just pops up in town? Look, I’m sorry if it's personal to you but it is to me as well.”

“That means nothing. You have no fucking proof and are giving people shit to believe. Do you know what the hell this could have meant to me? Those were my parents. Yeah, they were shit, but they were my parents and I would have died a million times for my mom.” Kenny yelled with fury, with hurt in his eyes. “Screw you, screw you for fucking with the people of South Park!”

Kenny stormed out of the building, trying not to scream to cause attention. Kenny was never a harsh man, but when it came to the disappearances, he would lose every bit of collectiveness. Even after 10 years, he still wasn’t over that one night of waking up without his parents. He waited with his siblings for days, before finally deciding that they would have to fend for themselves. He still has their old cell phone numbers on his phone and calls them every once in a while, hoping for a simple hello. He was tired of being hurt, and Tweek just made him feel like a giant fool.

Craig starred at the shut door with an open jaw, appalled at what just happened. He felt his gut clench and embarrassment flood across his body.

“Hey man, I’m sorry- I didn’t think it would go south so quickly,” Craig said with astonishment in his voice. He was at a lost for words.

Tweek must have felt the same, given that he didn’t respond. Instead, he threw his head back and started to hyperventilate again. “I just need a few moments- this all doesn’t feel real” he croaked out between breaths.

“Yeah, of course. I’m just gonna.. um, speak with him” and with that, he ran out the door after his friend, and pulled down his hat in an attempt to cover up whatever dignity he had left.

______________________________________________________________________________

“What was that about man?” Craig approached the now crying Kenny, who sat against the brick building on the cold, wet snow. Craig sat down next to him, being careful to keep his distance. They sat their quietly for a minute, as Kenny breathed deeply and wiped a tear.

“I can’t get over it. It’s been 10 years, and I still am waiting for them to just come home. Any bit of hope I get destroys me- I can’t keep doing this.” Kenny signed. His voice trembled with every word.

Craig put his arm around Kenny’s shoulder and pulled him in. After so many years together, they would always have each other’s back. The two were practically brothers. Together, they would work through this.

“I didn’t shoot him because he gave me hope too. The moment he mentioned parent’s going missing… my heart dropped. Everything is so messed up Kenny- it should never have been us raising our sisters. I still don’t know what happened.” Craig felt a snowflake touch his nose, yet he felt warm. “I messed up. I shouldn’t have accepted this, and I sure as hell should just move on” he paused. “Life sucks.”

There was always the one thing that differed the boys, and that would be their relationships. Although Craig has never been one to date, Kenny had his Butters. Although they attended elementary school together, they formally met in high school when Kenny tried to pick-pocket him for some lunch change. Kenny will never forget Butter’s soft reaction and offered to buy him something instead. The two have been irresistible ever since, and Kenny swore to protect his life with his own. Unfortunately, Craig never was one to date. He went on a few dates with a guy named Thomas back in tenth grade, but he never felt a connection to him and decided to call it off. Craig was jealous of Kenny and Butter’s relationship, and he longed for something half as beautiful as their relationship. Craig hated to be alone, but he also hated going to social gatherings or putting himself out there. It really is hard to love other people when you can’t even look at your own reflection in a mirror.

“So, what are we gonna do about the guy inside?” Kenny questioned his partner, and they both were hesitant to answer.

“I mean, I still think he’s on to something. What if we try to help him? We can’t get anymore hurt than this.” The two smiled at each other. This was the type of stuff they were the best at. Getting themselves into questionable and idiotic scenarios in hopes to somehow bring justice to South Park, even if it meant killing some crooks for cash.

______________________________________________________________________

The two boys entered back into the building, Kenny smiling and Craig with a straight face. Their arms swayed by their sides as they walked toward the boy, who has yet to move from his spot. He stared up at the two boys with a face of terror, _they’re gonna kill me they’re gonna kill me they’re gonna-_

“Even though you are probably full of bullshit, we want answers too.” Kenny said in a serious tone.

“That means we are gonna help you, but if you turn out to be another fraud… we are gonna have to do something else to deal with you.” Craig finished of Kenny’s sentence, but with an emotionless tone.

“Of course, if this doesn’t work for you, we may as well drive you up to cult and let you pick your own fate, if that is what you want” Kenny added on, this time with a smirk. He loved to see the blonde get anxious.

“I-It sounds like a good - _ngh_ \- idea. We can work for s-some answers!” And just like that, a giant weight was lifted off of Tweek’s shoulders. Somehow, the blonde managed to survive. Not only did he in fact survive his certain murder, he would be partnered up with two men who only want him alive for answers.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I didn't play with anyone's Crenny-loving heart! Quick spoiler: the next chapter will definetely have more about Tweek :) I am currently back in school and quite busy, but I will try to have 1-2 updates a week. Thank you soooo much for reading!


End file.
